


Clearing The Air

by CrystalHopeDragon



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Cannonical Character Death, Happy Ending, Multi, Romantic turmoil, happy shipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-11
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-21 22:20:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8262412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalHopeDragon/pseuds/CrystalHopeDragon
Summary: Arthur was slowly descending into madness. Lewis had been missing for two months, Vivi's memory looked like someone took a mace to it, and Arthur distinctly couldn't remember the last place he saw Lewis - or the last place he saw his LEFT ARM! Vivi's memory was even worse off.He was determined to find out what they had lost, and locate Lewis.At the moment though he was fairly sure he wasn't going to make it long enough to reunite them. That angry ghost had tracked him down again. ---In which the mysteries finally come to light, and they get some of the secrets and tension out in the air.





	

Arthur was slowly descending into madness. 

Lewis had been missing for two months, Vivi's memory looked like someone took a mace to it, and Arthur distinctly couldn't remember the last place he saw Lewis - or the last place he saw his LEFT ARM! His memory seemed to jump between them all being in the van, heading to their next mystery (of which he also couldn't remember!) and him waking up in a hospital bed beside a crying Vivi, with a noticeably missing limb. 

While he was trying to figure out how he got from point A to point freaking B by recapping this to Vivi, he realized that she not only couldn't remember what happened to them last, but also couldn't remember Lewis at all! She had woken up next to him in front of the hospital, had naturally panicked over him bleeding out, and got him rushed to the emergency room. She didn't know anything about how they got to that point though, nor did she understand why he kept talking about someone she didn't know. When he tried to bring up dozens of memories involving them all together, she remembered the event, but not Lewis's participation. If he made her focus on the missing elements or lack of certain people in her memories she would get a massive headache and either refuse to answer any longer or black out. He had stopped asking her for answers fairly quickly, determined to find them elsewhere.

When they all came home without Lewis, the Pepper's put out a missing persons report on him, to no avail. He obviously hadn't come home, and no one had seen hide nor hair of him since he left with them. They had assumed news on him would turn up eventually, but as days turned to months that seemed far less likely. 

Arthur had started doubling his and Vivi's mystery trips with Lewis hunts as well. After two months of no luck, he was starting to panic though. He couldn't find him. Showing Vivi pictures of him didn't help, it just made her headaches increase. And worst of all; Vivi had started hitting on him. 

He loved her, he really, really did; but she belonged with Lewis! He wasn't going to interfere with his best friends relationship while one of them was missing, amnesia or no. Vivi deserved better, Lewis deserved better. They deserved each other. Not their whacked out friend who had fallen for both of them. So he hunted, and he searched, and he hoped she'd understand his refusals once they got Lewis back. 

At the moment though he was fairly sure he wasn't going to make it long enough to reunite them. 

That weird purple ghost had hunted them down again and seemed determined to have his head. Vivi was too far away to help him, he had fallen and twisted his ankle, and the ghost seemed ready to strike. No way to run, no where to hide, and no luck negotiating. 

Well, he'd had a good run at this life thing. His only regret was that he never got to finish it. He closed his eyes and prepared for the final blow. The blow that never came that is.

"ENOUGH!" A loud, booming voice rang through the clearing he had fallen in. 

He glanced up to find that it wasn't the ghost who had spoken, but MYSTERY. Not in his usual garbled animal speech though; in a clear, powerful voice. That wasn't the oddest part of the image before him though. No, the odd part was Mystery being twice his normal height, more foxish, with 9 tails and glowing. Arthur had no response, nor did the ghost. Vivi managed a stuttered, "Mystery?" But that was about all that was heard before their not so little dog started to speak again.

"I am not going to sit back and watch you murder each other," he glanced at Lewis, " again, over a misunderstanding. We are going to sit down and talk this out. Lewis, Arthur, sit down and stay calm." Arthur seemed to be doing anything but, considering he realized to whom Mystery was referring to as Lewis. His voice got softer as he glanced at Vivi. "Vivi, please come and join us. We have a lot to cover, but we should start by returning your memory. Arthur's as well if we can." Arthur seemed to be closer to a panic attack at this point.

"You-you're the one who ripped off my arm in the cave! The cave -o God, the cave. What did I do?!" He grabbed his head, tears streaming at this point. He glanced up at Lewis, horror showing. "I-I, you! NO!"

"Okay, well his memory's no issue. Quick, Vivi's memory needs to be returned first, so do it fast. We need to address the cave problem before Arthur kills himself." Mystery states calmly while watching Vivi pull Arthur's hands from his now scratched up face. 

"Him offing himself is a bad thing?" Lewis said with a grumble, only getting a two part chorus of "yes!" From the calmer members of the group. He walked up to Vivi slowly though, finally opening his anchor and showing her the picture inside. Her memories returning was reflected quite well through her expressions, and when it showed she got to the end Lewis caught her before she could fall. She was crying as well at this point, clinging to Lewis. 

Mystery only sighed -having shrunk to regular size at this point- and wrapped one of his tails around Arthur to try and calm him as he started in. "Good, now that we are all up to date, let's try and get on the same page. Let's start with the demon that possessed Arthur in the cave, took over part of his body and pushed Lewis off a cliff." 

Lewis had created a corporal form at this point while he comforted Vivi, but it flickered in shock. Arthur didn't even respond, just buried into his human ball further.  
"Possessed?" Lewis questioned.

Mystery nodded, continuing, "There was indeed a demonic force in that cave, one that feeds on anguish and negativity. It latched onto Arthur's feelings and used his body to spread more anguish by killing you. I ripped his arm off in time to free Arthur before it fully controlled him but I was too late upon arriving to save you. I wasn't making that mistake twice." He curled around Arthur tighter, trying to coax him out of the ball.

"Arthur?" Vivi asked slowly, trying to inch towards him without leaving Lewis.

"I-I could hear it's voice. It kept calling to me. 'Push him, push him, push him' it said. When I didn't listen, it." He took in a gasping breath. "It didn't give me a choice. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. It was my body, I should have been able to stop it. I'm sorry." He curled in tighter into his ball as he spoke. 

Lewis and Vivi tackled them at this point. "It wasn't your fault! I'm sorry I didn't know, but it wasn't your fault." Lewis said as he buried Arthur's head in his chest. Vivi wrapped around his back while she hid inside Mysteries tails, still clutching Lewis's shirt with one hand. 

"And I should have been able to help. Somehow, anyhow." Vivi mumbled as they all curled closer.

"You did." Mystery spoke up again. "Or at least you tried to. Upon seeing one of your beloved die and the other breaking from anguish, your latent psychic abilities acted up and you erased both your and Arthur's memory of the incedent. You overcompensated on yours a bit though in an attempt to relive the pain and accidentally blocked all your memories of Lewis. You tried to help the only way you thought of in your hurt panic. Once you both passed out from the mind altering, I used my supernatural size and speed to rush you to the nearest hospital. I then used my less supernatural ability to drive to get the van there as well." Mystery said with a chuckle. "You know what happened after that, though you can inform Lewis of it in a bit." He glanced at their wide eyes. "I think you are all probably more curious about me than that at the moment, hum?"

Vivi reached out to scratch his chin, getting a quick cheek lick in return. She un-tensed a bit at the familiar gesture before asking, "Mystery, sweetie, I love you, but I've got to ask. What are you?"

"How familiar are you all with the Japanese legend of the Kitsune?" He opened with.

Arthur signed. It was going to be a long night, and he was slowly descending into madness. As he glanced at his apparently psychic friend, his undead friend, and their supernatural dog, he realized that it was a good kind of madness though. It was a madness formed from their craziness coming together, not them being ripped apart.

\---

Three days, a lot of explaining, and quite a bit of tears later they were back in Vivi's apartment, almost like nothing had changed. The Pepper's had been informed that Lewis had been found, telling them that he had been on an impromptu self discovery trip. Obviously everyone was pissed, but they were so happy that he was okay that they let it be for now. The authorities were upset obviously but as he seemed safe and sound and hadn't caused any actual trouble there was nothing they could do. The four of them had decided to not inform anyone of the fact he was dead. He passed for the living well enough, after all.

Mystery, even though his secret was out, didn't act any different. He seemed comfortable remaining the mindless, partially talking pet. When questioned why he had outed himself at all, he simply responded that he wasn't going to let the three people he cared about most in the world slaughter each other any further; even if it did put his location at risk. 

As for Arthur, he was coping. He had just discovered that he had semi murdered one of his beloved, so it was going to take time to process and survive. Seeing them together helped though. Being with them helped a lot. Still, he understood they would want privacy after all this, so he was surprised that the first chance they got for some alone time they invited him along. 

So while they all stood in the apartment, deciding what to do for their first evening of peace, he finally asked, "Wouldn't you two prefer some time alone? You know, for romance? You haven't gotten to since...in long time." He tried to mention, not so subtly.

"Of course we want some romance time! Why do you think we invited you along, silly?" She paused for a moment, looking at him with her big, falsely innocent doe eyes, "That is, if you want to join in."

"Wait-wait, what?" He glanced at Lewis, hopelessly confused.

He just shrugged. "We'd been planning to talk to you about it after the cave, but things got a little...sidetracked."

"It's always been the three of us." Vivi said with a grin, linking arms with them both as she moved towards the living room to pick out a movie. "It just didn't feel right having it different here. We are a trio, not a duo, after all." She finished as she finally let them go, just to grab the Princess Bride for them to watch. She then promptly dropped to one side of the couch, dragging Arthur into the middle, while Lewis sat on the other side. Arthur looked ready to cry.

"All for one, one for all." He said with a choked laugh as they both kissed his cheek before snuggling in to watch the old classic. He was drowning in madness; and he couldn't be happier.


End file.
